Folklore is
a body of traditional belief, custom, and expression,
handed down largely by word of mouth and circulating chiefly
outside of commercial and academic means of communication
and instruction...
Benjamin
A. Botkin, 1938.
The addition of two folklorists
to the department's faculty has expanded the course offerings
and research opportunities for students interested in traditional
art forms and the aesthetic dimensions of culture.
New courses in Folk Narrative and Folklore Method and Theory
are already being offered and others are planned for the near
future.
Faculty have a strong interdisciplinary orientation and research
interests in:
folk narrative,
traditional drama,
festival,
the anthropology of play,
the folklore of North American ethnic groups, and
performance- centered approaches to expressive culture.
